Another year down and another to go.
This is the third year that I’ve sat and mapped out my accomplishments throughout the previous twelve months, which means I now have a small history to look back on and track my progress towards more long-term goals. I wrote this in a newsletter a few weeks back, but I find significant value in tracking accomplishments throughout the year, and having something comprehensive to reflect on by the time December comes around.
A quick note before I jump into it: If you dislike the word “accomplishments,” just choose another one. I use the word because I think it’s valuable to take pride in what I’ve done, but I can see how calling something an accomplishment may feel strange to some. For example, I consider spending a lot of time with my grandfather an accomplishment, but some may view that more as a highlight of the year. That word works as well.
So what am I proud of for this past year? Like usual, I break it out into four categories: Personal, Career, Athletic/Health and Volunteering.
Here are some of my key accomplishments:
Personal
Got engaged to Anne, took a lot of trips to see family and friends, reconnected with a ton of people through Zoom, read 70 books (+18 vs my goal), published 160,000 words, 157 posts and 38 newsletters on EF Writing Project (vs 12 post goal), developed a daily journaling habit, spent over two months with family (mine and Anne’s).
Career
Had a really strong year in a new job, had great opportunities to coach a handful of peers and played a significant role in undergraduate recruiting, worked on some interesting COVID-related projects and learned a lot from them, continued to expand my network and crystallize the direction I want to go next.
Athletic/Health
Some great “races” (50M, 50K, 2x marathon), 1,700 total miles run, some memorable bike rides with Dad, cut out caffeine three times (and went back to it every time!), slept a lot, cut out fast food for six months, organized the best Great Saunter yet, did so much walking with Anne and other friends.
Volunteering
100 hours volunteered in unusual circumstances, developed a strong relationship with new little in Big Brothers program, expanded Centro’s Intercambio and met a ton of international students, continued to prioritize donating to charity.
There you have it. Some of the things I’m most proud of looking back on the year. Of course, that list paints over areas where I fell far short of my goal heading into 2020. Things like not running a 100 mile race, not getting paid for any writing, not sticking to a strength training plan, not cutting out fast food all year, not hitting 250 volunteer hours. There were also a few activities I had my sights on that didn’t end up happening: toastmasters, a writing class, the Whole 30 diet.
But that’s how it always goes. It’s pretty tough to nail down everything you’ll do in a year. Things change, particularly in a year like this past one. I always prefer to put a lot of aspirational things on the page, and then tackle whatever feels right as the months go by. Not only does that make me less likely to beat myself up halfway through the year, it also lets my imagination run a bit. Last year I wanted to post twelve pieces to my website, and I posted more than ten times that amount. Who knew? I basically channeled a lot of my time commuting and volunteering into writing. This year will probably bring something similar.
Speaking of 2021, my goals for the coming year in a lot of these categories could be thought of as simple maintenance. I think I reached a good equilibrium on a lot of things, like running (1,500+ miles per year), reading (52+ books per year), writing (150,000 words per year) and volunteering (150+ hours). That comes out to about an hour each day per activity – less for volunteering. To me that feels like a healthy amount of time to spend on things that I definitely prioritize. And if something else comes up, I won’t mind cutting back on some of them – particularly reading – and focusing my efforts elsewhere. The key is to be flexible and trust my gut.
Which brings me to my main addition for 2021: to earn money from my new website project. I’ll be starting a website for English students – details to come – and my stretch goal is to earn income from the project. That’s not why I’m doing it, but the goal is to reach a point where I can start to envision a more flexible, self-employed career in which I spend more of my time writing and teaching than I do now.
I’m always interested to hear what others are thinking for the coming year, so feel free to shoot me an email at [email protected] with any ideas you’re thinking through!